Numbers

Thanksgiving break by the numbers.

1- twenty-one pound turkey eliminated in 80 minutes
  - berry cheese pie
2- pumpkin pies
  - apple pies
3- cool whips
  - kinds of waffles
4- hours to cook the turkey
  - cups of gravy
  - boxes of stove top
  - pizzas
5- pints of ice cream (it comes in pints?)
6- guns put into use
8- wonderful dinner guests
9- pounds of sweet potatoes
10- pounds of potatoes mashed
40- handgun rounds sent downrange
80- shotgun shells sent (mostly) through clays
140- rifle rounds sent downrange
240- Crescent rolls ("I forgot each batch made 24 not 12.")
2300- words written in nine hours for a final

Decorating the Christmas Ledge

It's that time of year again, decorating is here again. After the children picked which ornaments they wanted to put on the tree, trama began.

"Not on tree. Up there."



"Where on the tree would you like to hang this?

"No tree. Up there."



"Ornaments go on the tree."

"No. There."



"Can you please put it on the tree?"

"No."

We lost the battle and the war. We decorate the Christmas ledge.

We might be getting the hang of this...

Six pumpkins.

Four ideas.

Tim wanted minions. He nearly cried when no else voted with him.

Ami wanted Narnia, as she is going as Lucy, but she decided to vote otherwise.

 

 

  

Melissa asked if we wanted to do a "Plants vs. Zombies." To which Susanna responded, "Eat brains? Iprod plezeze?" (Ipad please.) (We found out she and best friend in nursery apparently have bonded over the "eat brains" phrase, as it is the only phrase they understand each other saying. 

Then Maggie suggested "Avengers". 

"HULKYESYESHULKYESPLEZEZEHULKCUUUuuutTTTTEEE" screamed Susanna. Everyone but Tim voted for Avengers. 

"Hulkman mom?" 

"Yes Susanna, we will do Hulk and Ironman"

And she blushed.

After researching google, David drew some patterns. We think they turned out pretty good this year.

Maggie took on her first start-to-finish carving

 Melissa did most of the Cap.

Ironman turned out decent.

So, yea, we were getting tired, and Loki and Hawkeye got tossed for the stink'n emblem.

David's favorite work was his Hulk. 

David drew Mjolnir, because it goes with the Westlake high school theme a little better than someone who's pretty cut for a homeless guy.

Hopefully they will keep until Wednesday!

 Oh, and Susanna found out that the others chose their costumes, and she immediately demanded a she-hulk outfit. "CccccuuuuuTTTTTE" *blush* *giggle*

We round up

David decided that 11 rounds up to 25. In answer to the next three questions in your mind: "Because" "No, it does not make sense or have to do with sleep deprivation (well, maybe, I think he almost got 16 hours of sleep between Monday and Friday)." and "Sometimes, when you are grown up, you (insert action here) just for fun."

So, on Thursday, after a few hints over the last couple months that the truck could be replaced, he took me to pick out a vehicle (of my choice) that better meets our family's long term needs and my wants. 

I got a Honda Pilot. It is pretty. It has some fun features I have not enjoyed previously. A hard drive to store my music. Bluetooth so when people call me as I drive they can catch my children complaining that "she touched me" or "she snorted" or "he's complaining that I farted." It also will wirelessly play music from my iPhone. How cool is that? 

On Friday, I got completely surprised when David took me out a bit earlier than usual for our weekly date. He asked if I knew where we were going, I guessed a corn maze, and he went with it describing (making up) a "marathon maze" in midway where it takes about six hours to get through, and you have a map, etc. etc. etc. About halfway there, he asked if I really wanted to guess where we were going. Totally had me fooled. 

Come to find out, some of his family members (thanks gang!) were set to babysit for the night, and we went out and enjoyed a meal at my favorite restaurant, The Blue Boar, and then stayed next to a waterfall on the Provo river at the Old Johnson Mill. Relaxed, watched "The Artist" (highly recommend), and did not talk about grad school, the children, or work. Best birthday ever, yet, but probably ever. Oh, and we hit a cheese factory, cause cheese is further evidence of divine creation.

The Wild Boar Tenderloin and beef barley soup tasted superb. The duck confit in the rosemary crepe tasted wonderful. The goat cheese mousse turned out excellent, in spite of the beets, and the rabbit wrapped in prosciuto(?) made my mouth happy. Duck breast, not so much. The monchego cheese on the white vinegar salad tasted amazing. Don't come trying to convince me other restaurants around here are better. You can have your garden of olives and houses of steak, I'll head for the hills of Midway.

View from our room.

Look at the bottom left, and you can see Neptune's color!

2012 Portraits

Amirrah

Maggie

Susanne

Tim

We do not have any pictures of Melissa's new baby, Neptune. 

Since I am no longer Scoutmaster, we no longer needed the truck, 

so she chose a Honda Pilot for her (slightly early) birthday present. 

It is the deep blue that looks black at night and an off shade of 

blue purple (plue? burple?) from the wrong angle.  

Ami's first writing assignment

Ami turned in her first grade writing assignment (her first ever writing assignment for school.  Obviously, we typed it up for the blog, but here it is:

Tap. tap. tap. Click. Clink. Clink. I like to dip the big stamps in red ink so it will go on and more of the the design will show up on the paper. I like to play with them because they have red ink. My favorite stamps are those with hearts and little flowers and they make a nice heart wreath. When I make stamped paper, I like to hide it under Mom's fancy pillow.

If I had another color, it would be dark dark dark purple. Then I could dip the stamp in to the red and purple which are both girl colors. If I could have other rubber stamps, I would want people like girls with pigtails, boys with shinguards, moms with on ponytail in the back, dads play Pirate Code, friends in the bike race and objects like dads desk, window fans, computers, dress clothes, suits, grass, fences, houses, long curtains and teensy, weeny, windows. 

With all of those I will make a house with people in the windows. I would make my brothers and sisters play board games like Pirate Code and Clue. I would help my little sister get her breakfast on the dinner table. 

Ironmom

Tim is making a ghillie suit for his Halloween costume, (with Melissa walking him through the whole way). She taught him how to iron so he could iron the material and the pattern. The following conversation ensued.

Ami: "When are you going to teach me how to iron mom?

Melissa: "When I think you are old enough to do so safely."

Ami: "When I make my own gill-bee suit?"

Melissa: "When you are older."

Ami: "Maggie, when are you going to learn how to iron?"

Maggie: "When do I get to learn how to iron, mom?" (FYI Another situation where verbal punctuation is important.)

David: "Ironmom?" (Ignored)

Melissa: "When you work on a project where it is needed."

Ami: "That will be when you are older."

Tim: "Yea, because it is important for me to learn this now, so when I get married I can teach my wife how to do things."

Melissa: "Hey!"

Tim: "Cause that's what Dads do when Moms do not know what they are doing."

David must be crying because his shoulders are heaving.

Melissa: "If your future wife's parents teach her how to do things, then you won't have to teach her... hey you - stop it."

David: "I need some water."

Ami: "Susanne, do you want some popcorn? If you sit up, mom said you can have popcorn, and you can share."

David: "Ami, Mom did not -"

Melissa: "Actually..."

David: "Really? Really?"

Ami: "Yeeessssssusanneyoucanhavepopcornifyougetupletmehelpyousitupbeforedadsaysno"


Ami pulls Susanne (who is asleep) to a sitting position.

David: "Et tu Brute?"

Maggie: "Yea! You are awake! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII looked out the window and what did I see."

First Crush

Susanne giggles. She shrugs her shoulders up to her ears, turn her eyes down, and blushes.

She pronounces his name clearer than any other word in her vocabulary.

He has his own movie.

He is one of the Avengers.

Does she go for the brainy Tony Stark types? Nah.

Does she dig a red and gold fancy suit? Nope.

Does she seek for Thor's biceps? Negative Ghost Rider.

Does she like Loki's horns? No, that's Ami.

How about Captain America? "Goway" (Go away.)

Does she particularly like how Banner turns into a giant green rage monster? "YesyesHulkyes!"

"What do you like about him?"

"Cuoute" (Cute)

She celebrates every time he's on the screen.

Almost as funny as asking Tim why he was running through the house naked: "I was fast so no one could see me and so no one would know I was awake."